NASA's mission: sweep up space junk

Tampa Bay Times, February 20, 2012 had a story of how NASA is brainstorming for a solution to retrieve the more than 20,000 pieces of space junk that are orbiting the earth in a LEO (Low Earth Orbit) trajectory. NASA just gave $1.9 million to Star Technology and Research, a small company in South Carolina, to develop and test technologies for a spacecraft it calls the ElectroDynamic Debris Eliminator -- EDDE for short. Powered by a 6-mile wire -- make that "space tether" -- that generates energy as it is pulled through the Earth's magnetic field, EDDE would sidle up to a piece of space junk, whip out a disposable net to catch it and then move to a lower orbit, where air friction would coax the item to re-enter the atmosphere. EDDE, staying in orbit, would then move on to it's next target.

Does NASA really think that a 6-mile long space tether is going to isolate a piece of space junk traveling at a speed of over 7,000 mph? I hardly think so. Even if the satellite where to be retrieved, it would fall back into our atmosphere and planet and crash land on someone. Multiply this times more than 25,000 satellites that need to be retrieved and tell me what the percentages are that any of these units (satellites) would not fall, hit and kill civilians on earth when they crash. The solution is: Not sending additional satellites into orbit to destroy the protective ozone layer of the earth. My book states the ongoing problems that are present now which I stated in 2009 when the book was published.